


For This We Are Partners

by CallistoNicol



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, because why not?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 05:12:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13139772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CallistoNicol/pseuds/CallistoNicol
Summary: Christmas wishes really DO come true (or at least they can, if Chat can stop staring at Ladybug long enough to process what she just said).





	For This We Are Partners

Chat watched the pretty little snowflake flutter down to land on the tip of his red nose, holding form perfectly for two seconds before melting from the heat of his skin. Ladybug giggled at his crossed eyes, which made him grin. Anything that made her happy was good enough for him.

 

They were sitting together atop a roof, facing their favorite landmark, the Eiffel Tower. Most nights they preferred to sit on the Eiffel Tower, as it made a great vantage point and provided a spectacular view, but on Christmas Eve, more joy was derived from admiring the red and white lights adorning the landmark. Every time Ladybug looked at it, her eyes twinkled, making Chat fall harder and harder for her. 

 

They were curled up under a fuzzy blanket he’d brought just for this occasion, cuddled together for warmth. (And that was the only reason they were cuddled together. It sure wasn’t because his raging crush had deepened to love over the years (which it definitely had), or because she’d fallen for him (hard no). Nope, just two superheroes trying not to freeze was the only explanation for why their legs were entwined and arms wrapped around each other and heartbeats synced.) 

 

Watching the Christmas lights had become a tradition of theirs on Christmas Eve. The first time they’d met up for this purpose had been purely an accident. Chat, frustrated with his father’s lack of warmth during the Agreste family annual Christmas Eve supper, had flung himself out of his bedroom window in frustration, leaping about the rooftops of Paris until he settled down across from the Eiffel Tower to brood.

 

He’d perched stationary long enough for Ladybug to find him. Sensing his mood, she’d quickly left, leaving him feeling useless and unloved on all sides of the mask, which just fueled his broodfest. But to his surprise, some twenty minutes later she’d returned with a large blanket and a canteen of hot chocolate. Wrapping the blanket around the pair of them, she hadn’t said anything at all, leaving him to his feelings, but offering support just by being there.

 

It was the first time he’d cried in her presence, which she’d pretended not to notice.

 

The following Christmas, she casually mentioned that she’d be there to admire the Eiffel Tower once midnight Mass let out. Chat didn’t need to be told twice, and met her with an even larger blanket and a small basket of treats. It had been a jolly occasion, the somber mood of their first Christmas meetup a distant memory.

 

They’d been coming here for five years now, each Christmas Eve lasting a little bit longer and each blanket cuddle getting a little bit closer. It was Chat’s favorite night of the year, the one time he could pretend his Lady felt for him what he felt for her. 

 

Not that he would ever mention that. He knew his love was one-sided; she’d confessed more than once over the past year that she was in love with someone, and he wasn’t going to lift a finger to ruin her happiness. As long as that sparkle of joy twinkled in her eye, he was content. 

 

Shivering lightly, Ladybug snuggled closer to Chat, so he tightened his embrace. This was his favorite moment all year, and he wanted to make the most of it.

 

After passing the BAC with flying colours and graduating from lycee, he’d enrolled in a physics program at Universite de Pierre et Marie Curie. He’d wanted to quit modeling at that point, but didn’t have the heart to say no to his father, who had looked so pleased when Adrien agreed to sign with  _ Gabriel _ for a minimum of five years. He wished he had, though; in order to maintain the model physique, he definitely wasn’t eating enough, which was an ongoing problem with his side job as Chat Noir. Since he couldn’t explain to his father why he needed so many extra calories, he didn’t get them, and with a school and work schedule as hectic as his, he didn’t have time to sneak out and obtain food.

 

Ladybug, being the most wonderful human being the world had ever known, seemed to know this, and had brought a basket filled with every wonderful food one could find in a bakery. Even better, everything was stamped with the Dupain-Cheng bakery logo, his favorite bakery as it belonged to his friend’s parents. 

 

“You should eat more,” Ladybug said, poking a finger in his side. “I swear you’re wasting away in front of me.”

 

“You breader believe it,” he said happily, taking a proffered bit of baguette. She elbowed him in the side. 

 

“That’s a bit munch,” she grumbled, sending him a sideways smile. 

 

“I believe you mint to say, ‘I loaf you.’ “

 

“Donut tempt me.”

 

This truly was heaven. Good food, beautiful girl, food puns, blanket cuddles, Christmas Eve…

 

If only she felt the same way. 

 

“I’ve got a joke for you,” Ladybug said. “I heard it from my dad. What do you call a fake noodle?”

 

Chat grinned at his lady love. “An impasta!”

 

“Bah. I was really hoping you hadn’t heard that one.”

 

“I hadn’t, My Lady; I just know how to make a good pun. But my favorite bit was that you were thinking about me off the clock!”

 

“I think about you all the time,” she said, then side-eyed him again, this time with a measuring look. He knew that look; she was wondering again about his eating habits. Thyme to change the subject. 

 

“It’s Christmas, My Lady.”

 

She twitched her cute little nose at him, aware of what he was doing, but she didn’t say anything. “Yes it is, Chat.”

 

“And do you know what that means?”

 

“Pere Noel is going down the chimney tonight because it soots him?”

 

Chat gaped at his lady love. She was on fire tonight and he was loving it. “Marry me,” he said. “Yesterday, please.” With a tinkling laugh that sound like home and warmth and happiness, she bopped him on the nose and turned his face away, snuggling back into his side. If only she knew how serious he was being. 

 

Pulling the blanket even closer, Ladybug said, “I don’t know. What does it mean?”

 

“Presents, Bugaboo.”

 

“You mean that thing we agreed not to get each other?”

 

“Says the girl who gave me the gift of food.”

 

“Mm. Fair point.”

 

“But that’s not what I’m talking about anyway. I want to know your heart’s desire. If you could be granted a Christmas wish, what is the one thing you want more than anything?”

 

Ladybug went quiet as she contemplated his question, one elegant finger gently tapping her chin. Chat felt the mood shift as her eyes turned serious. His breath caught; she was taking him seriously, preparing to give an insight into her soul. Chat lived for little moments like this where she opened up just the tiniest bit. Every scrap of information he learned he filed away to be mulled over later in the safety and comfort of his own home, where she couldn’t tell him to stop thinking about her. 

 

“I should probably say something about wanting Hawkmoth to be defeated or establishing peace on earth,” Ladybug said softly, “but that’s not what I really want. What I want is selfish, but it’s the thing that keeps me awake at night.” She paused again, looking out at the city lights, and Chat bit his lip to keep from pestering her to just tell him already. After an agonizingly slow ten seconds, she started again and said quietly, “I want my one true love to kiss me.”

 

Chat let out his breath in a disappointed  _ whoosh _ . Part of her soul, sure, but he didn’t care  _ at all _ for this part. He really hated that crush of hers. 

 

But she was being sincere, so he wasn’t going to rain on her parade. “You never know,” he told her. “You might get your wish.” And he’d better be not be anywhere near her when it happened, or he was going to cry a sad river of tears. 

 

Her gentle, merry eyes turned towards him, reflecting the Christmas lights. A snowflake landed on the tip of her nose; Chat was sorely tempted to kiss it off. Thank goodness the little temptation melted before he could do something stupid like give in to his impulse. “You really think so?” she asked, voice low. A delicious shiver coursed through Chat’s torso, and he had to painfully remind himself that she was in love with some loser who couldn’t pole vault over a building. He gave her a noncommittal sound he hoped she took as agreement. 

 

A moment passed as Chat stared at the Eiffel Tower. He wondered what Ladybug’s special friend would think if he knew Ladybug was cuddling with Chat Noir in what could be called a magical Christmas moment. 

 

“What about you?” Ladybug asked, nudging him gently. “What’s your one Christmas wish?”

 

He could have answered flippantly or with a pun, but in the wake of her honest (and disappointing) wish, Chat gave in to vulnerability and told the truth. “I want to get fat.”

 

Ladybug pulled away enough to give him a confused look. “What?” she asked.

 

“Not, like, morbidly obese or anything,” he said, taking great pains not to look at her as he spilled his soul, “just….I don’t know, a spare tire around the middle.”

 

“Why?” she asked, curiosity painting her tone. He still didn’t look at her.

 

“My life situation at the moment… I’m not entirely in control, and I’m pretty sure I’d get hamstrung if I put on an extra pound or two, and I’d just really like to eat until I’m full for once. To me, being fat means I get to choose what I eat, and I want that in my life.”

 

Embarrassment licked at Chat’s ears and slowly crawled across his face as he registered what he just said to his partner. Being a model wasn’t easy, and sometimes, all he wanted out of life was to go out with Nino and eat until he couldn’t move. But he’d never admitted this to anyone before, and Chat was quickly discovering how uncomfortable it was to have your deepest desire hanging in the air. 

 

Ladybug didn’t give a verbal response, but she pulled him close and buried her face in his shoulder. Love and acceptance skittered across the embrace, and Chat felt himself relax. He knew Ladybug would never make fun of him, but knowing and experiencing were two different things. It was gratifying having her match his expectations. 

 

They stayed wrapped up in each other until the moment dissipated. The cold was starting to get to Chat, even through the blanket and his Lady’s embrace, and he knew he’d have to make his farewells in a moment. But first he wanted to get as many cuddles as he could. After all, her warmth had to carry him through Christmas with his father. 

 

Ladybug was the first to break the silence. “So,” she said. Chat uttered a  _ what? _ sound when it became clear she wasn’t going to continue. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her face go as red as her suit. What was that all about? “Well?” she half demanded. 

 

“Well...what?”

 

“Well, are you going to kiss me?”

 

He had to have heard that wrong. 

 

“I beg your pardon?”

 

Staring straight ahead, face still on fire, Ladybug repeated, “Are you going to kiss me?”

 

Nope, he’d heard correctly. His heart beat a furious tattoo, unsure what to make of the situation. It didn’t make sense; after all, she wanted to kiss her crush, not him. “Do you mean as practice? For your lover boy?”

 

Turning to face him, she gave a look that said he had the brains of a three year old. “You can’t be this obtuse.”

 

He was feeling out of his depth. Life didn’t come with an instruction manual when your one true love wanted to practice kissing on you so she didn’t screw it up with the guy she was actually in love with. Feeling a little like a used dirty tissue, Chat said, “Won’t kissing me make the real thing less magical?”

 

Staring him straight in the eyes with narrowed brows, she said, “My gosh, you  _ are _ this obtuse.” 

 

“Not to mention there’s no way your boy’s going to want to hear he’s second place to Chat Noir. Finding out you’re second makes a fellow feel awfully low.” Like right now, for example. “You should save that kiss for your crush.”

 

“I mean you, Chat,” she said firmly.

 

“Yes, I got that.”

 

“I don’t think you do. I want my crush to kiss me.”

 

“Yup, that’s been established, thanks. I was here for the confession.”

 

“And I want you to kiss me.”

 

“Got that, too, and I think it’s a terrible idea, My Lady.”

 

“I mean you, you dumb alley cat! I want you to kiss me because you’re the one I’m in love with!”

 

Time froze as Chat stared at Ladybug, processing what she just said. Her angry eyes sparked as they bored into his.

 

“...huh,” he wheezed, completely at a loss.

 

Sitting up and moving directly in front of him, Ladybug growled, “Must I do everything?” and pulled him into a kiss.

 

It took an embarrassingly long time for Chat to react as his brains had turned to mush, but once it processed that  _ the woman he was in love with _ was  _ kissing him,  _ he finally got his head in the game. Snaking his left arm around Ladybug, he brought his right up to gently caress her face. She made the most pleasant humming noise, finally pleased, and Chat melted into her kiss. Her hands slipped behind his neck to lodge in his hair, drawing out a low moan from him. She smiled into the kiss, and Chat was sure he could die happy in that moment. Who needed enough calories when he could kiss Ladybug? 

 

She finally ended the kiss, resting her forehead gently against his. Chat was breathing heavily, trying desperately to get enough air in, but her eyes were doing things to his insides, and he was in serious danger of forgetting to breathe altogether. 

 

“Me,” he finally said. “I’m your crush.”

 

“Have been for the better part of the last two years, but thanks for finally noticing.”

 

“ _ Me. _ ”

 

Threading her fingers through his hair, she whispered, “Yes, you,” and kissed his nose, “always you,” and kissed his cheeks, “only you,” and pressed the gentlest kiss to his mouth. 

 

Chat couldn’t find it in himself to respond, only stare in open mouthed wonder at the ethereal being in front of him. He was going to die rooted to this spot, and they were going to have to build a statue in honor of this the most glorious of moments. 

 

Kissing him again, Ladybug said, “Or did you think I just cuddle with every Jean, Jacques, or Pierre I come across?”

 

Chat came to enough to say, “I mean, well,  _ maybe,”  _ but as her eyes flashed dangerously, he stemmed the flow of anger by initiating their next kiss, and by the time it ended, she’d forgotten to be irritated with him. 

 

Leaning back, Ladybug gently patted his cheek. “Don’t worry,” she said fondly. “If you date me, my parents will take one look at you and make it their life’s mission to fatten you up, so we’ll both get our Christmas wishes.”

 

_ Yes, please _ , Chat thought fervently as he went in for another kiss. 

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas!


End file.
